For Aiden Babb, it felt like that baseball would never come down.
With the game tied at two and bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Ridge junior lifted a towering hit into center field. Two outs on the scoreboard. The Tigers needed just one run to hand rival Greer its first region loss of the year.
Babb’s hit drifted and drifted. Greer’s left fielder made a great diving attempt on the ball.
It dropped just in front of his outstretched glove. Blue Ridge walked it off with a 3-2 win.
“It was a rush of emotions when I saw it drop,” said Babb. “I didn’t hit well at all the rest of the night, but in the most important at-bat of the game, I finally got one.”
Babb rushed past first base and was immediately mobbed in celebration by his teammates. After being swept by the Jackets last season, Blue Ridge earned a crucial region victory to vault the Tigers right into region title talks.
“This is a huge rivalry and a huge win to get against a team right down the road,” said Blue Ridge head coach Travis Henson. “It’s two programs that are really good, and if they weren’t good, it wouldn’t matter all that much. To play in a game like this with a lot on the line, it makes it so much more fun.”
To get to the point where Babb’s walk-off was even possible, however, junior pitcher Luke Chappell was the one the Tigers leaned on. Chappell tossed a career-high nine innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven.
“No matter the situation, Luke is always calm,” said Henson. “He’s very poised. No matter what the count is, where the runners are, what the score is, and what inning it is, he’s calm. That enables him to be so effective and efficient.”
“I just go out there, and whatever the situation is, I take deep breaths and pitch,” said Chappell. “I trust my defense behind me to make plays, and I just go out there and try to do my job to win, because I know how much this game means to our community.”
Zion Anderson knocked in both Greer RBIs for a Jackets squad that will to get back on track in Friday night’s game two against Blue Ridge.
It will be another installment in one of the state’s best — and most intense — baseball rivalries.
“Ever since they swept us last year, we’ve been waiting to play them again,” said Babb. “What 'Papa' [Coach Jerry Henson] likes to say is that Greer is a team we always have to live shoulder-to-shoulder with.
“This rivalry is big, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m just glad we were able to come out with it tonight.”
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